“During childhood, every day was a fantasy.”

Though Audio Inc.’s Sakura Note isn’t the sequel to Contact that I was hoping for, the game’s visual style — which you can preview along with a wonderful song at the link above — gives the impression of a spiritual successor.

1UP’s preview of the “nostalgia-twinged” DS game:

“It’s a story-heavy, overhead-view adventure set within two towns and the surrounding countryside. A new girl, Nanami Yoshida, has just moved in to your neighborhood, and apparently she’s being targeted by a local band of ghosts and ghouls.

It seems this has something to do with a pair of sakura (cherry blossom) trees that dominate the landscape of both towns, one slowly withering and another one blooming deep into the summertime, as if to make up for its weaker sibling. You, a normal boy, decide to get to the bottom of both mysteries, talking to people and unlocking new story episodes as you go along.”

Audio Inc. founder Akira Ueda adds that it’s “a game whose whole atmosphere is mellow and moving, that makes you think, with its game design, text, and music.”*

The development team is packed with top talent — Ueda (Contact) as director, Final Fantasy vets Nobuo Uematsu and Hideo Minaba managing the music and graphics, Kazushige Nojima (Kingdom Hearts) handling the script, and Kenichiro Takagi (Half-Minute Hero) as producer.

Sakura Note will release in Japan on November 5th, and will include a soundtrack CD with preorders.

See also: Mochi and those damned vanilla skies

*JC says this translation might not be 100% accurate

tags / contact / akira ueda / sakura note / marvelous interactive / audio inc / ec / official site